Happy New Year with Wonderful Radishes

One of the meaningful ways of understanding our nature environment is taking a field trip. And this winter, my friend Fennie offers me a great opportunity to have one.

I still remember that there is a very funny family story about “pulling out a huge carrot (or radish?)” in the elementary textbook. And I never have a real experience for that. Therefore, when I know that I can visit a big radish farm, which located in Tainan countryside, I can’t wait to see those radishes with green leaves and get a real vegetable-touch. In addition, it is wonderful that all the radishes are only used to be nature fertilizer for this land, not for sale. In other words, maybe they are not 100% “organic” which needs to fit certain criteria, but they are totally non-pesticide vegetables.

Compared to carrots, radishes are seldom mentioned in terms of nutrition. And I don’t plan to discuss this issue here, although, I do believe both are valuable if we properly cook them. In fact, my love and passion for radishes originally come from おでん (oden), the boiled style truly bring its special favor out, making the radish have a warm and soft mouth-feel. After many years, when I first time traveled to South Korea, I am surprised at the allure of the radish pickles! Crisp, fresh, and a bit sweet, it is very suitable to have a bite before a meal or to eat with fried chicken, which is the favorite way of many Koreans.

Another good reason to enjoy the radish is that it is an image of “Good Luck”, as its Taiwanese name shows. So, on 2 January 2016, the beginning of this year, I spent a happy afternoon in a green farm, pulling out lots of lovely radishes (good luck) from the land, picking and taking them home with my own hands. I can feel the power of nature, that is, the more understanding about the nature environment around us, the more appreciation of this land we will have.